Doctor from Animal Husbandry Department to be part of ABC programme in Salem Corporation

Doctor from Animal Husbandry Department to be part of ABC programme in Salem Corporation

A doctor from the Animal Husbandry Department will be part of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, which was halted for three months, in Salem city.

Salem Corporation has two ABC centres at Shevapet in the Suramangalam zone and Ponnammapet in the Ammapet zone. Four vehicles are used and 20 trained Corporation staff are involved in capturing stray dogs. The sterilisation of dogs was stopped in Salem Corporation during the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed in 2022 and 750 to 1,100 dogs were sterilised through an animal welfare charity at the Ponnammapet ABC centre on Veeranam Main Road every month.

The Corporation spent ₹1,650 per dog (₹200 for capturing and ₹1,450 for works related to sterilisation). The contract period with the charity ended on January 31 and following this, the ABC centres remained closed.

Councillors raised this issue at the Corporation council meeting and demanded the Corporation to resume the sterilisation programme at the ABC centres. The Corporation, through the District Collector, asked the Animal Husbandry Department to allocate doctors to resume the ABC programme. Based on that, a doctor from the Animal Husbandry Department was allocated for the ABC programme.

Corporation Commissioner M. Elangovan said the civic body would spend ₹1,000 per dog, including capturing the dog and providing required medicines. Within a week, the ABC programme would resume, he said.